Military ranks of the Colombian Armed Forces

Last updated October 30, 2023

The military ranks of the Colombian armed forces consist of the list and ordering of the different military ranks, for the Officers, Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and soldiers, seamen and airmen ("other ranks") of the Military Forces of Colombia. The ranks are visually represented by insignias placed on the uniforms, usually at the shoulders, sleeves and shirt collars.

A literal translation from Spanish to English may be misleading as the rank names do not necessarily follow the customary order used in anglophone military ranks in all cases. Furthermore, Colombia is not a member of NATO, so there is not an official equivalence between the Colombian military ranks and those defined by NATO. The displayed parallel is approximate and for illustration purposes only.

Applicable law

The ranks in the Military Forces of Colombia are regulated through the following applicable legislation: the Decree-Law 1790 of 2000,^[1] Law 1405 of 2010,^[2] and Law 1792 of 2016^[3]

In terms of protocol, the established order for the forces is Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, as established by the Military Rules of Protocol (Reglamento de Protocolo Militar FFMM)^[4]

Army

The Colombian Army is the largest of the three service branches of the Military Forces of Colombia, tasked with defending sovereignty and law and order across the national territory. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Army personnel.^[5]^[6]

Officers

Rank group				Senior officers			Junior officers
Colombian National Army ^[7] v t e
Colombian National Army ^[7] v t e	General de ejercito	Mayor general	Brigadier general	Coronel	Teniente coronel	Mayor	Capitán	Teniente	Subteniente
Abbr.	GR	MG	BG	CR	TC	MY	CT	TE	ST
'"3B" Uniform sample^[7]
Service branch				Cavalry	Infantry	Engineers	Communications	Cavalry	Artillery
Camouflage Fatigues sample^[7]
Service branch				Cavalry	Infantry	Engineers	Artillery	Communications	Logistics (Armory)

Enlisted

Rank group	Senior NCOs							Junior NCOs		Enlisted
Colombian National Army ^[7] v t e												No insignia
Colombian National Army ^[7] v t e	Sargento mayor de comando conjunto	Sargento mayor de ejército	Sargento mayor de comando	Sargento mayor	Sargento primero	Sargento vice primero	Sargento segundo	Cabo primero	Cabo segundo	Cabo tercero	Soldado profesional	Soldado
'"3B" Uniform sample^[7]												No Insignia

Soldier types

Soldado: Conscripted soldier serving for a period of 22 months mandatory service ^{[n 1]}.
Soldado Profesional: Regular soldiers that stay in the army after completing their 22 months' mandatory conscription service, making it a permanent career. The number in their rank insignia indicating the number of years they have served.

Additional ranks

Dragoneantes are soldiers who have gained recognition through their achievements and have special training. They have a certain degree of authority over regular soldiers.

Rank group	Dragoneante				Alumno
Insignia^[7]
Insignia^[7]	Dragoneante mayor de escuela	Dragoneante mayor de batallón	Dragoneante mayor de compañía	Dragoneante	Alumno tercer nivel	Alumno segundo nivel	Alumno primer nivel

Navy

The Colombian Navy (Spanish : Armada de la República de Colombia) is the maritime service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia, responsible for security and defense in both the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific seas of Colombia, the extensive network of rivers inside the country, and a few small land areas under its direct jurisdiction. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Navy personnel.^[5]^[9]

Officers

Rank group				Senior officers			Junior officers
Colombian National Navy ^[10] v t e
Colombian National Navy ^[10] v t e	Almirante	Vicealmirante	Contralmirante	Capitán de navío	Capitán de fragata	Capitán de corbeta	Teniente de navío	Teniente de fragata	Teniente de corbeta
Abbr.	ALM	VALM	CALM	CN	CF	CC	TN	TF	TK

Enlisted

Rank group	Senior NCOs						Junior NCOs		Enlisted
Colombian National Navy ^[10] v t e
Colombian National Navy ^[10] v t e	Suboficial jefe técnico de comando conjunto	Suboficial jefe técnico de comando	Suboficial jefe técnico	Suboficial jefe	Suboficial primero	Suboficial segundo	Suboficial tercero	Marinero primero	Marinero segundo
Abbr.	SJTCC	SJTC	SJT	SJ	S1	S2	S3	MA1	MA2

Marine Infantry

In Colombia, the Marine Infantry is a Corps depending on the Colombian Navy and not a full service branch on its own. Being tasked with amphibious and riverine and littoral operations, the MI presents a combination of ranking names derived from the Army, combined with naval insignias. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Marine Infantry personnel.^[5]

Officers

Rank group	General/flag officers					Senior officers			Junior officers			Officer cadet
Colombian Naval Infantry ^[10] v t e
Colombian Naval Infantry ^[10] v t e		General		Mayor general	Brigadier general	Coronel	Teniente coronel	Mayor	Capitán	Teniente	Subteniente
Abbr.	-	GR	-	MG	BG	CR	TC	MY	CT	TE	ST	-

Enlisted

Rank group	Senior NCOs						Junior NCOs		Enlisted
Colombian Naval Infantry ^[10] v t e										No insignia
Colombian Naval Infantry ^[10] v t e	Sargento mayor de comando conjunto	Sargento mayor de comando	Sargento mayor	Sargento primero	Sargento vice primero	Sargento segundo	Cabo primero	Cabo segundo	Cabo tercero	Infante regular
Abbr.	SMCCCIM	SMCCIM	SMCIM	SPCIM	SVCIM	SSCIM	CPCIM	CSCIM	C3CIM	-

Aerospace Force

The Colombian Aerospace Force is the service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia tasked with the protection and defense of the Colombian sovereign airspace. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Aerospace Force personnel.^[5]

Officers

Rank group				Senior officers			Junior officers
Colombian Aerospace Force ^[11] v t e
Colombian Aerospace Force ^[11] v t e	General del aire	Mayor general del aire	Brigadier general del aire	Coronel	Teniente coronel	Mayor	Capitán	Teniente	Subteniente
Abbr.	GR	MG	BG	CR	TC	MY	CT	TE	ST
"3B" Uniform sample

Enlisted

Rank group	Senior NCOs						Junior NCOs		Enlisted
Colombian Aerospace Force ^[11] v t e
Colombian Aerospace Force ^[11] v t e	Técnico jefe de comando conjunto	Técnico jefe de comando	Técnico jefe	Técnico subjefe	Técnico primero	Técnico segundo	Técnico tercero	Técnico cuarto	Aerotécnico
Abbr.	TJCC	TJC	TJ	TS	TP	T2	T3	T4	AT	-

Pre-2010 ranks

Rank group					Senior officers			Junior officers
Colombian National Army
Colombian National Army	General de Ejercito	Teniente General	Mayor General	Brigadier General	Coronel	Teniente Coronel	Mayor	Capitán	Teniente	Subteniente
Colombian National Navy
Colombian National Navy	Almirante	Almirante de Escuadra	Vicealmirante	Contralmirante	Capitán de Navío	Capitán de Fragata	Capitán de Corbeta	Teniente de Navío	Teniente de Fragata	Teniente de Corbeta
Colombian Naval Infantry
Colombian Naval Infantry	General	Teniente General	Mayor General	Brigadier	Coronel	Teniente Coronel	Mayor	Capitán	Teniente	Subteniente
Colombian Aerospace Force
Colombian Aerospace Force	General del Aire	Teniente General del Aire	Mayor General del Aire	Brigadier General del Aire	Coronel	Teniente Coronel	Mayor	Capitán	Teniente	Subteniente

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Colombian Aerospace Force																																			No equivalent
Colombian Aerospace Force	Técnico Jefe de Comando Conjunto			Técnico Jefe de Comando			Técnico Jefe		Técnico Subjefe		Técnico Primero						Técnico Segundo						Técnico Tercero				Técnico Cuarto		Aerotécnico						No equivalent

Notes

↑ In 2010, the Constitutional Court (Spanish: Corte Constitucional) on grounds of discrimination and protection of equal rights, issued an order^[8] to the Military Forces to stop the classification of conscripts into "regular", "peasant" and "baccalaureate" (Spanish: "regular", "campesino" y "bachiller"), and to standardize the terms and conditions for all conscripts to 22 months.

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References

↑ Secretaría Senado de la República de Colombia (ed.). "Decreto 1790 de 2000 - Normas de carrera del personal de oficiales y suboficiales de las Fuerzas Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
↑ Secretaría Senado de la República de Colombia (ed.). "Ley 1405 de 2010 - Nuevos Grados Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
↑ "Ley 1792 de 2016" (PDF). Gobierno de Colombia. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
↑ Policía Nacional de Colombia (ed.). "Reglamento de Ceremonial y Protocolo Policial" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
1 2 3 4 Congreso de la República de Colombia (28 July 2010). "Ley 1405 de 2010 Nuevos Grados Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
↑ Ejército de Colombia (15 March 2011). "Grados y distintivos del Ejército" (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 April 2011.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Capítulo V: Insignias militares". RGE 4-20.1: Reglamento de Uniformes, Insignias y Distinciones (in Spanish) (7th ed.). Colombia: National Army of Colombia. pp. 301–331. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
↑ Corte Constitucional de la República de Colombia. "Sentencia T-218/10,Orden a las Fuerzas Militares de modificar la modalidad de incorporación al servicio militar, de soldado regular a soldado bachiller, desacuartelamiento inmediato y expedición de la libreta militar" [Sentence T-218/10, Order to the Military Forces to modify the modality of incorporation into military service, from regular soldier to high school soldier, immediate disenfranchisement and issuance of the military booklet] (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 May 2011.
↑ Armada Republica de Colombia (2006). "Insignias de la Armada" (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 April 2011.
1 2 3 4 Congreso de la República de Colombia (28 July 2010). "Ley 1405 de 2010 Nuevos Grados Militares" [Law 1405 of 2010 New Military Ranks] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
1 2 "Grados Militares Fuerza Aérea Colombiana". fac.mil.co (in Spanish). Colombian Air Force. Retrieved 28 May 2021.

External links

Colombian Army Ranks and distinctives - Official site
Colombian Navy - Official site (in Spanish)
Colombian Air Force - Official site (in Spanish)
"Colombia". uniforminsignia.net. International Encyclopedia of Uniform Insignia. Retrieved 17 February 2023.

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[9] In 2010, the Constitutional Court (Spanish: Corte Constitucional) on grounds of discrimination and protection of equal rights, issued an order^[8] to the Military Forces to stop the classification of conscripts into "regular", "peasant" and "baccalaureate" (Spanish: "regular", "campesino" y "bachiller"), and to standardize the terms and conditions for all conscripts to 22 months.

[1] Secretaría Senado de la República de Colombia (ed.). "Decreto 1790 de 2000 - Normas de carrera del personal de oficiales y suboficiales de las Fuerzas Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

[L1405-2010-2] Secretaría Senado de la República de Colombia (ed.). "Ley 1405 de 2010 - Nuevos Grados Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

[3] "Ley 1792 de 2016" (PDF). Gobierno de Colombia. Retrieved 29 April 2020.

[4] Policía Nacional de Colombia (ed.). "Reglamento de Ceremonial y Protocolo Policial" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

[Ley-1405-2010-5] 1 2 3 4 Congreso de la República de Colombia (28 July 2010). "Ley 1405 de 2010 Nuevos Grados Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

[Grados_y_distintivos_EJC-6] Ejército de Colombia (15 March 2011). "Grados y distintivos del Ejército" (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 April 2011.

[Colombia_Army-7] 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Capítulo V: Insignias militares". RGE 4-20.1: Reglamento de Uniformes, Insignias y Distinciones (in Spanish) (7th ed.). Colombia: National Army of Colombia. pp. 301–331. Retrieved 28 May 2021.

[8] Corte Constitucional de la República de Colombia. "Sentencia T-218/10,Orden a las Fuerzas Militares de modificar la modalidad de incorporación al servicio militar, de soldado regular a soldado bachiller, desacuartelamiento inmediato y expedición de la libreta militar" [Sentence T-218/10, Order to the Military Forces to modify the modality of incorporation into military service, from regular soldier to high school soldier, immediate disenfranchisement and issuance of the military booklet] (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 May 2011.

[10] Armada Republica de Colombia (2006). "Insignias de la Armada" (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 April 2011.

[Colombia_Navy-11] 1 2 3 4 Congreso de la República de Colombia (28 July 2010). "Ley 1405 de 2010 Nuevos Grados Militares" [Law 1405 of 2010 New Military Ranks] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

[Colombia_AirForce-12] 1 2 "Grados Militares Fuerza Aérea Colombiana". fac.mil.co (in Spanish). Colombian Air Force. Retrieved 28 May 2021.

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v t e Military of Colombia
Service Branches	Army Aerospace Force Navy ("Armada") Comando de Guardacostas
Army	1st Division 2nd Division 3rd Division 4th Division 5th Division 6th Division 7th Division 8th Division Airborne Unit OMEGA AFEUR Ranks & Insignias Lancero
Navy	Active Ships Decommissioned Ships Almirante Padilla frigate Type 209 submarine ARC Gloria (School /Flagship) Navy Ranks & Insignias Marine Infantry Ranks & Insignias
Aerospace Force	Ct. German Molano Air Base Ct. Luis Gomez Air Base Maj. Alberto Pauwels Rodríguez Air Base Lt Col. Luis Pinto Air Base BG Arturo Lema Posada Air Base Ct.Ernesto Esguerra Air Base BG. Camilo Daza Álvarez Air Base My.Justino Marino Air Base Cl. Luis Rodriguez Air Base Lt Col. Benjamín Méndez Rey Air Base Marco Fidel Suárez Air Base (EMAVI) Ranks & Insignias
Wars and Conflicts	Gran Colombia-Peru War Supremes War Gran Colombia-Ecuador Conflict Colombia-Peru War La Violencia Era Korean War Colombian internal conflict
Related dependencies	COTECMAR Indumil SATENA
Military ranks of the Colombian Armed Forces Ministry of National Defense National Police of Colombia DAS

Military ranks of the Colombian Armed Forces

Contents

Applicable law

Army

Officers

Enlisted

Additional ranks

Navy

Officers

Enlisted

Marine Infantry

Officers

Enlisted

Aerospace Force

Officers

Enlisted

Pre-2010 ranks

See also

Notes

Related Research Articles

References

External links